Fifteen Hours, Zero Ways
by IFandomTooMuch
Summary: Yeah the title is currently based off a song, I'm unoriginal and rushing, sue yway, so this is basically just a story where Spiderman (Tom Holland) gets tortured. Sound like your kind of thing, then click in. It's not all that graphic though (whether that's better or worse depends on what kinda person you are)
1. Chapter 1

"Where the hell is he?" A voice asked calmly, anger fueling the tone.

"What? Who? Who is this?" Tony returned the confused look Pepper gave him from the interruption to their argument.

"Don't you "who is this" me. I have called every police station I know, every friend he has and every parent of those friends. I even asked his damn teachers! Now you tell me what _stupid_ "retreat" you've got my boy on now"

"Wait is this May?"

"Yes!" Her calm state fell apart.

Tony's eyes went wide and his hand instantly jerked the phone away from his ear _"Wow"_ He mouthed to his unimpressed _fiancé_. Then suddenly the reality hit him "Are you saying that Peter is missing?" He became uncomfortably rigid and serious as he asked, his eyes darting around the room as he thought.

"So he's _not_ with you?" May countered, anger dissipating to worry.

"No. No we haven't been in contact for a while now. How-how long has he been missing?"

"He hasn't been answering my texts since 7:46 last night"

 _Fifteen hours and fourteen minutes_ "Uh.. Was he out as Spiderman then?"

"I can't be sure. He doesn't really stop to tell me these things"

"Uh okay. Well, look, I'll-I'll find him, alright? He'll be back home before you know it"

"Okay" May answered unsurely.

"Okay, goodbye May" Tony finished in a rush before ending the call.

"What's going on?" Pepper's voice had an edge to it.

"The kid's missing" Tony didn't wait for Pepper to say anything back, but she was probably halfway through something anyway when he started walking, or jogging really, out of the room.

The left-behind red-head stared off in annoyance and surprise for a moment, then quickly followed the trail her fiancé just took.

* * *

Tony started up Friday, eagerly giving orders on finding the boy he'd encouraged to become a hero.

The computer worked quickly and the A.I explained at an equal speed. The map zoomed until a deserty looking area popped up. There were cliffs lining the background and a darkness that must've been a caved in point. As the image continued to become more apparent, the darkness could definitely be identified as an entrance to inside the cliff. And that was where the tracker signal was coming from.

So if the tracker was working, why hadn't Tony received a signal when the kid got taken so far from his home city? The billionaire couldnt figure that puzzle out, but he was insanely thankful of the tracker still being in place. Well why wouldn't it be if Peter didn't even know it had been put there after he removed the last one? All guilty conscience of that move was immediately released now that Tony had proof of the tracker being useful. He didn't know what predicament Spiderman was in, but after over fifteen hours with barely any recorded movement, the kid definitely needed help.

Tony thanked Friday out of habit, rushing back out to collect his suit. Pepper was standing behind him now, looking worried, but Tony wasn't concerned with her at that point. Because if anything had happened to that boy...

"Tony!"

The billionaire stopped with a sigh and turned around, eyes near pleading "What?"

"You're just running in blind?"

"Whoever took Spiderman has had a fifteen year old boy at their mercy for over fifteen hours. You know how much can happen in fifteen hours? A lot! A lot can happen. And if he's dead-" Tony's voice broke on him.

Pepper gave an understanding nod and Tony took that moment to leave. _When had he become so attatched to that kid?_ They both wondered.

* * *

"Stop. Please, just stop" Peter kept his eyes closed and didn't bother lifting his head. In all honesty, he didn't think he had the strength to anymore "I can't... I can't" He whispered brokenly.

All snarky comments and sarcastic comebacks had been taken out of him at this point. He just wanted the pain to stop. He just wanted to go home.

Cold fingers pressed underneath his chin, gently forcing his head up. He wanted to keep his eyes closed but he couldn't hold back the instinct to open them.

The eyes his met were full of concern, and he felt sick immediately. He knew he shouldn't have pleaded like that. What was going on in that man's mind, Peter was scared to know.

"Of course, of course" Even the voice he put on sounded concerned.

Peter closed his eyes again, fear clenching his heart. He couldn't escape, he knew that. The pain was inevitable at this point. Breathing hurt, thinking hurt, there was nothing that eased it, sleep barely seemed to help.

The footsteps of his personal prison guard (and torturer on the side) stopped behind him "I'll just cut you down, alright?" The sincere way he said it almost made Peter feel hopeful until he realized again that it was all a play to make him feel exactly that way.

A burning sensation impacted each shoulderblade, rippling through the rest of his body and hurting worse along the areas of his skin covered by water, which at this point was a fair amount with all the water the damp cave had falling from the roof above him. His scream still managed to sound strong when the rest of him couldn't be. He was sure that pleased the bastard doing this to him.

When the feeling died down, Peter let his weight fall further, now almost fully relying on the chains hoisting his arms up to keep the rest of him up too. His legs had gone weak long ago, but he'd been managing to stay standing for a while, despite the shallow puddle of water beneath his feet. Or the shallow puddle of water that _had_ been beneath his feet, but was now more accurately beneath his knees.

The chains tugged on his arms, pulling the muscles and causing extra, unnecessary pain. But he was too tired to care anymore. Besides, it was a lot easier to bear than anything else he was experiencing.

The bad guy started laughing as he paced back to the front view of his captive. Peter stared up defiantly, but it wasn't nearly as powerful as it had been at the beginning of this.

When was the beginning of this? Had anyone noticed he was missing yet? How worried would Aunt May be? Or Ned? Would anyone else care?

"You're actually pathetic, you know? When I was put after the Spiderman I was really expecting a lot more of a challenge. But you, you're just some stupid kid who's too righteous to know better"

"Are you ever going to let me go?" Peter asked wearily.

"Oh eventually, I'm sure. But I do enjoy this a little too much to let it go so soon"

Peter looked up hopelessly, his eyes dull but still full of plea "I'm _fifteen_ "

"I'm _aware_ " Bad Guy's voice matched to the same tone his little spider had used, though with some sarcasm easily laced through.

Peter hung his head in reply.

He didn't know what to do anymore. He'd already tried to escape, but the chains were too heavy and tight, his webshooters (and all other tech pieces for that matter) were gone and, well, he really didn't have much else to try out. Not now anyway, before he could've managed a few extra tricks. He'd have done them too, if Bad Guy hadn't always either been watching him or hurting him.

Now he didn't even need to be supervised because he was too damn weak to help himself. He knew his body was doing its best, but it just wasn't enough when his brain was screaming for results.

"So what haven't we done yet? Electrocution, waterboarding, boxing lessons, _kick_ boxing lessons, little bit of construction work..." Peter winced at the way his sufferings were described, the pain enhancing upon each recollection of when it first started "Exotic and diverse materials used for the purposes of a piñata stick. Hmm... What else can we try? Any suggestions? If not I suppose we can just go back to some other things. You didn't seem fond of the bamboo stick afterall"

The bruises on his torso and face seemed to pulse more excessively with pain at the reminder.

"How do you feel about a knife? Or a whip maybe? I don't really wanna damage that neat suit of yours, but I'm beginning to forgot what it sounds like to hear you scream, and we simply can't have that, not when it's such a beautiful scream"

Peter cringed in frightened anticipation of what was going to happen next. What terrible torture was there for him now? And what did he ever do to earn himself such a fate? ...Was this going to kill him?

A blinding light shook Peter out of his little world, the heat and sound that followed scaring the hell out of him, and again he tried to find a way out knowing full well he couldn't.

When the effects died down, Bad Guy was slumped against the other wall, his head against his rising chest. Still alive then, which Peter was honestly considering to be unfortunate. The guy happily took to torturing a fifteen year old, did he really deserve to live?

The weight of the chains suddenly fell and Peter's body followed the example. He never hit the ground though, but being caught by metal arms wasn't much less painful. He grimaced at the nausea starting in his stomach as the metal arms that caught him pushed him back up into a kneeling/sitting position. He still rocked a little and Iron Man never let go of his shoulder as to keep him in place.

"Mr Stark" Peter greeted quietly. Was the room getting darker? And what were all those spots clogging up his vision? "How...?" He trailed off when his mind slipped away from his grasp and sent him into the realm of unconsciousness.

Tony quickly grabbed the teen's other shoulder and pulled him into the suits chestplate. The older man stared out of his suit sorrowfully, his grip tightening around the boy. Looking around the room and having seen the state of Peter, Tony felt like his heart had just been torn out. There was some definite blood spatters and pools throughout the room, but it was clearest on the weapons held by one of the room's corners. And there were a _lot_ of weapons there. Mostly blunt force trauma causing weapons, like bats and hammers, though a bamboo stick was what looked like it had the most blood on it.

Cautiously, hyperly-aware of Peter's conditions, Tony maneuvered the boy into a position that he could safely carry him in, with the least risk of extra injury or pain if he needed to run and for when he started flying.

Peter was a pretty fair distance from anywhere too, so flying was unavoidable. Tony wished he had found the kid sooner, but then he'd never even known that Peter had disappeared.

" 'M sorry" Peter's soft and tired voice broke the silence and stole Tony's attention for a moment. But the kid quickly passed back out.

Fixing his grip again, Iron Man boosted off the gritty ground surrounding the cave like lair, and shot off into the night sky desperate to fly faster than his suit could manage.

 _"It's okay"_ Tony whispered repeatedly in his mind to try and keep himself calm.

* * *

 _So I watched Spiderman Homecoming recently. I'll save the fangirling and simply stick to the basic "It was fucking fantastic and my life is now complete and I'd watch it again in a heartbeat and if you haven't seen it go right now" Yeah, that's the incredibly short version of what I have to say so anyway, for some reason, this idea popped up after watching it and so I just had to write it down. ...I don't need to explain how my sick mind works to you..._

 _But hope you like this chapter anyway. It'll probably be a short two-three shot but then again I can be very quick to change my mind and find a new idea to add in. Stay tuned peeps!_

 _This is IFandomTooMuch, signing off_


	2. Chapter 2

Peter groaned when his body became alert to feelings again. The pain had mostly died down, but it was still there, making the teenager squirm to try and ease it further. There was some inaudible sound in the back of his mind, but he felt like he needed to hear it, like it was telling him something important. A moment later he got his eyes to open, albeit slowly. He looked around cautiously, relieved that being rescued hadn't been a dream. He couldn't see anyone in the room though, and his voice hadn't come back enough to call out. But he tried to anyway.

"Mr Stark?" He croaked, regretting his attempt immediately. Mostly because it hurt and partially because it sounded so pathetic. _"You're actually pathetic, you know"_ Peter winced at the voice, despite knowing it was only in his head.

Peter reached out a shaky hand, pulling it back with a cup of soothing water in his grip. When he returned the cup to it's place, his arm barely shook at all. He'd never really been injured so badly as to get a real glimpse of his healing properties, he'd had bruises go through all the stages in a say or two, but that was it. Aside from the broken bones he'd probably be healed within a week.

The single door leading to the room suddenly opened, and Peter didn't have time to suppress a mild jump at the sound and motion of it. He cast his gaze down so he didn't have to see any disappointment on his mentor's face.

"How you holding up?" Tony didn't sound at all disappointed, he sounded concerned, really.

Peter dared to look up "I'm-I'm fine, you know. Great, really"

"You weren't so great when I found you"

Peter didn't know what to say to that. He knew it had been bad, especially considering how his healing abilities had stopped after some amount of time. He could only guess that his body became too overloaded and shut down or something.

"He had you for fifteen hours"

Peter was actually surprised at that. He was sure it had felt longer than that.

"I'm beginning to wonder if I'm talking to a teenage boy or a brick wall?"

"How did you find me?" Peter diverted the conversation to what he'd been hanging to know since he'd been cut down by Iron Man.

"Your Aunt called, blaming me for you going missing at 7:46"

"But where was I? How did you get there? Did you get the guy that did this?" He briefly gestured to himself and the bed he'd been situated on.

Tony spared some thought to the questions, eyes focused on the injuries still visible and the tech used to keep the kid's body stable "He took you to some cave-like place inside a cliff. I flew there. And yes, I sent out some people to collect him"

"Who?"

"You know you had internal bleeding, right?" Tony decided to mention, not even hearing the last question.

"Well, no, I didn't know that, but-"

"Severe bruising along your torso, broken ribs, pulled muscles in your arms-"

"Okay! I get it, I was hurt, but that doesn't answer my question!"

"Kid, you weren't just _hurt_ , you nearly died!" Tony didn't shout, but he had a desperate edge to his voice "Wanda had to come in and stabilize you when we first got here because my tech wasn't doing anything!"

"Wanda?"

"Scarlet Witch"

Peter's eyes widened "Scarlet Witch healed me? That's so cool" He whispered to himself.

"Cool? Peter, that is not 'cool' at all. You know how close to death you were for us to have to bring her in?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine now, so..." Peter looked down again, his voice soft.

Tony sighed "Yeah, and thank god for that"

"You're not going to take my suit away again, are you?"

"I'd like to, but it didn't work last time so what would it do this time? At least my suit gives you a little extra help"

"Not that I need it"

"Besides, I don't think I'll have to take anything away when May gets to you"

"Oh no.." Peter felt a headache coming on just at the thought of what she would do.

"Can you just leave out the injury part?"

"You really wanna lie to Aunt May? You sure that's wise?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

Peter groaned "No"

Tony smiled for a moment "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, barely hurts anymore" Mild lie "My body's fixing itself just fine" Though a lot slower than he was used to "Thanks, though"

"Well you are pretty much my responsibility now. Since I gave you the suit and encouraged your inner spider"

Peter huffed a laugh, a little smile lighting up his face.

"May's just outside if you think you're ready to take her on"

"What?! Are you serious? You let her up here?"

"I don't think even The Avengers could've stopped her, so yes" Tony started to walk off.

"You can't leave me _alone_ with her!"

"I'm not one to intrude on family moments..." Was the reply as the billionaire slipped out the doorway.

Peter tried to brace himself for the oncoming storm that was Aunt May, but he knew it would do nothing.

"Are you alright?" May's asked, suddenly in front of her nephew. Peter didn't know how he hadn't heard her walk in, but he didn't think too hard on it.

"I'm fine"

Her hazel eyes scanned him, looking for any reason not to believe him.

"Really. Super-healing, remember?" Peter tried to ease her anxiety.

"Good. Because you are in a hell of a lot of trouble! I told you I didn't like this idea, I told you that you would get hurt! And look! Who was right? Me!"

"That guy was sent to target me, he's a special case. What I normally handle is nothing like him"

"What you normally handle might've _been_ nothing when he was through with you!"

"May, please-" Peter closed his eyes as the headache came on.

"I know what being a hero means to you, but you mean just as much to me" May stopped shouting, but spoke sternly "You know I couldn't bear to lose you, too"

"I know, I'm sorry. But being Spiderman, having the power that I do, I can't just let that go to waste when I know it can help others"

May sighed "You told me that last time..."

"And what would everyone think if Spiderman just suddenly disappeared? People think they can count on me now, do you want to let them down?" Peter knew the line he was walking was a thin one now.

"Promise you'll be safer in the future?"

"Of course I'll be! Definitely, yes, I promise. Thank you, Aunt May"

May sighed "Yeah"

"I love you?" Peter added, like a puppy seeking forgiveness.

"I love you too" May replied affectionately "But that doesn't mean I'm not still mad"

"What are you going to tell the school? I'm not going to be ready to go back for a couple days at least"

"That you've come down with some terrible disease or something, I guess"

"I need a week or two, not a lifetime"

May smiled "Yeah, well no promises"

A silence settled the room, no one bothering to break it.

* * *

"Why can't we go see him?" Wanda asked, eyes squinted in confusion.

"Because he needs rest and time to settle things with his Aunt" Tony answered.

"And after that?"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea"

"But wouldn't it make him feel better?"

"I agree with Wanda, a visit from us could help his healing properties run at their full capacity" Vision supplied.

"Aren't they already?"

"No, his ordeal had quite a damaging affect upon that part of his system. It seems like it was... overworked. It's exhausted but can't stop itself from continuing to work. So he's healing, but not at a satisfactory or stable rate"

Tony pressed his lips together and rolled his eyes "And a visit from you two will help how?"

"A distraction from his injuries. It would relieve his body of the desire to fix itself, giving it time to rest so it can come back stronger"

Tony thought over it for a moment "Fine. But not yet. His Aunt's still here"

Wanda smiled, clearly wanting to get to know the boy she'd used so much energy to save.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Peter, but you know I can't be late for this job"

"It's fine, I understand. Besides, I've got the Avengers here" Peter's smile looked like it belonged on the Cheshire Cat "It's not like I'll get lonely right?"

May returned his smile, though not as enthusiastically "I suppose not" She leant down to kiss his forehead then turned to leave.

She shot one last glance his way and he waved at her.

Peter sighed when the door closed, his eyes closing with it. The pain along his torso was becoming unimaginable, and it had been really hard keeping up the act around May.

He slid further down into the bed, thoughts and pain vanishing soon after.

* * *

 _Chapter 2, up!_

 _Alright so most definitely a third chapter to be expecting because I've still got more ideas to run with. But this is where I'm leaving chapter two because I think it's a neat end for now._

 _If there is something you think I should do with this story, suggestions are always helpful so go ahead. Constructive criticism and general feedback is always nice. There's this little review box down the bottom of the page so maybe give that a try..._

 _Also as a spare note, I can't remember what side Scarlet Witch was on in Civil War so she probably shouldn't even be in this story, but you'll just have to deal with that because I'm not changing it. Maybe I'll just bring in all of Cap's side back to make it work, I don't know._

 _And Aunt May had a job right? I mean I don't know how else they'd get money, but if anyone knows for sure what job that is, please let me know._

 _I think that's it..._

 _BYE!_


	3. Chapter 3

"I think he's waking up" A distant voice called from somewhere, seemingly the back of Peter's mind. He didn't recognize it, but he felt like he needed to seek it out anyway.

Upon opening his bleary eyes, immediate regret. The pain was a lot less painful, but it was still hard to think past.

"Peter?" The voice spoke again, startling the teenager into noticing three blurred figures.

He squinted, attempting to clear up his vision "Who?-" Peter gasped, no longer needing to be told "Scarlet Witch" Pain and tiredness were at the back of his mind now "You healed me"

Wanda smiled, she liked him already "Yes, I did. You were very badly injured, you know. It took a fair amount of my own energy"

"Uh sorry about that. But thank you. I-I really appreciate that you helped" Peter didn't even know what to say because _Scarlet Witch!_ "But, wait. Aren't you like a war criminal now? With Captain America?"

"In the eyes of the government, perhaps"

"Very much in the eyes of the government, actually. But not in mine. I called everyone back together. I guess it got kinda lonely without them all"

Peter's head snapped toward the new voice "Mr Stark!" He'd forgotten about seeing other people when he woke up. He looked around to find the other figure he'd seen "Vision? Oh wow" He stared in awe.

"It's nice to meet you, Peter" Vision told him.

"Yeah" Oh he could not believe this was actually happening.

"Hey, don't forget me kid" Tony called his attention back "How're you feeling?"

"There are two Avengers in my room, I think I'm good"

" _Three_ " Tony muttered in hurt.

"Well yeah, I just mean-"

"I know, I know. I'll just leave you alone to get to know your _two_ Avengers"

"But-"

"No, no, it's fine. I've got some stuff do anyway.. somewhere" Tony called from, the hallway.

Peter looked down guiltily, but Wanda smiled "He's always being dramatic, I'm sure he's not even offended" She glanced curiously at the door though. She'd never been a big fan of Tony Stark, but something seemed different recently, and Peter was the most likely cause of why.

The billionaire had some great affection toward the boy. He'd been especially distressed when first bringing him in. Of course, a fifteen year old with such injuries as he had was not to be taken lightly. Though still, Stark clearly cared dearly for the young hero. Wanda found it oddly comforting somehow. It wasn't like she thought Tony was some emotionless man who only cared for himself, but he could come across as just that at times.

"I wouldn't be so sure" Vision cut in "He did seem a little upset"

"Vision" Wanda warned, rolling her eyes his way.

Peter's eyes kept flicking between the two, waiting for them to finish their staring contest. It didn't seem to be happening.

"Are you two alright?"

Wanda rolled her eyes back Peter's way "Fine" She answered for the two of them. Vision remained silent, choosing to keep his gaze trained on the ground.

"Did you two just have a mental discussion? Can you do that?"

"No" Scarlet Witch answered a little too fast.

"Oh, okay" Peter didn't know whether to be disappointed or not because she sounded awfully defensive about having telepathy "Well, um... What exactly can you do?"

"I can create and manipulate energy"

"So just pure energy healed me?"

"It aided your body functions to return to healing you themself, yes"

"Cool" Peter said with awe, but tried not to sound too excited by it. But it was really, _really_ cool to have been given pure energy by Scarley Witch!

"Do you have any idea of how your healing abilities work?" Vision stepped into the conversation.

"Same way as everyone else's I guess. Just twice as fast"

"You know that healing is slower for a typical human because the system can't be overworked, right?"

"Well yeah, of course I know that" Now, anyway.

"Vision we already discussed this" Wanda near hissed.

Once again, the android shut up, Peter's eyebrows wrinkling in confusion.

"Perhaps we should leave you to get some rest"

"What? I'm not tired, you can stay" He may have been awkward with these two, but having them their and _talking_ to them was just amazing! He didn't really want them to go yet.

"Peter, you've been through a great ordeal, you need to let your body heal itself. The best way to do that is to sleep" Wanda pushed, already standing to leave.

The teenager signed "Okay. Well, it was great getting to meet you"

"As it was to meet you" She agreed politely, disappearing through the door.

"You too, V"

Vision seemed to contemplate the nickname for a moment before seemingly accepting "To meet the person behind the mask of such a great hero has been an honour"

Peter gaped at the compliment. He couldn't think of how to reply, _thank you_ had never been harder to say. An Avenger just complimented him. _Vision_ just complimented him. He couldn't believe it. _No way_. No way did that just happen. Not to him. It couldn't have. But it _did!_ Peter was beyond excited now, and Wanda had expected him to _sleep_ after meeting them? _'She has to be crazy'_ Peter thought, even as he slid back down into the bed.

Maybe it was all the excitement after all, or maybe the pain was pulling on his conscience again, but for some reason and despite his wishes, Peter couldn't keep himself awake.

* * *

"Did it help at all?" Tony asked immediately as Wanda and Vision walked in.

"His healing has improved a stable amount"

"But it's not at its best is it?"

Vision blinked sympathetically "I'm afraid not"

Tony let out an extended sigh, staring at the ceiling accusingly "His healing ability isn't even healing _itself_ " He scoffed "That's just great"

"And when did you start caring so much?" Wanda asked, not unkindly but genuinely curious.

Tony's legs uncrossed and swung off the table to the ground. He was glaring menacingly for a moment, stopping as soon as he looked at Wanda's innocent expression "I don't know" He answered honestly "I saw a video of him on youtube and decided he could use a better suit. From then on it was just his boyish charm that pulled me in, I suppose"

"You chose a good one" Wanda's eyes sparkled with what looked like admiration. She'd not looked at anyone like that since her brother.

"Yeah" Tony relented from voicing his thoughts of how terrible a chose it had been to invite a fifteen year old into world like this. A world where money is enough to get someone to torture a minor.

Tony came away from his thoughts to realize Vision and Wanda had left. It didn't bother him that they were gone, but he was concerned that he didn't notice them leave.

"Friday?"

"Yes, sir?"

Tony still felt strange not having Jarvis, but he always got over it quickly "Come up with anything yet?"

"I've narrowed it down to three potentials"

"That's good work. Who are they?"

"Charles Misthil, Amy Milburn and Alexa Ingra"

"Occupations and addresses?"

"Charles is a lawyer living in Queens at 83rd street, house 23. Amy works at the Landmark Coffee Shop which is an eighteen minute drive from her home at 24 Huron street, Brooklyn. Alexa is a taxi driver around Staten Island, residing at 140 Katan Ave, she frequently visits Queens to see her nephew"

"Criminal offences?"

"Only Charles holds a record. Petty theft and forgery crimes"

"Hm.. Send a message through to Shield for me?"

* * *

 _Mostly a filler chapter, sorry for that. Looks like this story is definitely going to contain more plot than I expected, amazing how far one idea can take you._

 _Sooooo drop a review? I just really like seeing big numbers, it makes me feel appreciated, so please?_


	4. Chapter 4

_Yes, there has been a timeskip between this chapter and the last as you will realize once reading it. I figured hospital scenes would get waaaay to tedious and seem pointless so I just skipped over all of that to get back to the interesting bits._

* * *

"Black Widow taught me some of those moves" Spiderman called out to the bundle of women tied around the church's lamppost.

"Screw you!" The red-head, Carmina, yelled back.

Three weeks after being released from the medical ward of the new Avengers facility, and Peter was back into the spring of things as Spiderman. He'd been told to take it slower, that his healing abilities weren't running back at full pelt yet, Black Widow even decided to train him once he was no longer restrained to that medical bed. He had to admit, he was a lot better now. He'd beaten six professional arsonists with a history of violence and didn't even have a scratch on him. His suit had a few rips though, not hard to fix.

Peter heard the sirens and could see them a few blocks away "Enjoy another twelve years in prison, girls!"

"Just you wait, you little bug!" Rose, was it?, shouted to his retreating back.

"Well done, Peter" Karen said, sounding about as proud as an A.I could.

"Spiderman" Peter corrected "It's Spiderman when I'm in the suit" He reminded her.

"Of course, Spiderman"

Peter smiled. After a few weeks of healing (also known as _nothing_ ) and on-off training with the Avengers ( _one of the best experiences Peter had had in his entire life_ ), he had been let back out as Spiderman. Tony was still keeping a close eye on him though, but it didn't bother Peter at the moment. He may have gotten back into the swing of things, but someone had hired the person that took him. The memories of torture were enough to give him nightmares, he didn't want there to be someone behind it. Someone they had no way of finding, someone who could do anything again at any time, someone who would try to hurt him. He didn't like grand plans; especially if they involved him somehow.

Sighing, Spiderman sat down and swung his legs over the edge of the roof. He looked out at all the city's lights. It was a beautiful sight. All the life and movement; people milling the streets, stores closing, apartment and house lights going on and off all the time. It was relaxing, it made Peter feel like what he was doing was worth it. But it made him wonder about the bad; did those kinds of people deserve this life? There were worse people out there then the one Peter had been at the mercy of.

"What are you thinking about?" Karen asked kindly, breaking the silence.

"I'm just wondering how someone could be so... bad"

"You mean the person who took you?"

"Yeah" Peter closed his eyes to block off the flashback that was about to start "Among others" He added after opening his eyes with a deep breath.

"Well I can't answer that, Spiderman. Humans are all so.. complex. Not everyone makes sense"

Peter listened to Karen carefully but never answered. He knew that, he just didn't get how someone couldn't care; how someone could _enjoy_ doing what he'd suffered to others. It was horrible. It was insane. It wasn't right. It didn't _make sense_.

Karen, concerned at the silence, spoke again "Peter?"

"I know" He told the A.I softly.

He sat there for at least an hour. Nothing happened. Nobody called to see where he was. Karen didn't warn him that it was getting late.

It was peaceful. The silence.

* * *

"I don't think you still need to be watching him, Tony" Steve told him, arms crossed as he leaned back in the chair "He's healing fine, and he knows how to handle himself"

"But he's still waking up in the middle of the night screaming" Tony replied evenly, as his eyes stared at the non-moving tracker.

Steve sighed and cast his eyes down "I get that you care about him, but he doesn't need you watching his every move"

"I'm not watching his every move" Tony defended.

"You always have that tablet in your hand and you freak out whenever the tracker stops moving for more than two seconds" Wanda supplied from the bench.

"And it hasn't moved for about five minutes now" Tony tried not to sound worried. Peter was on top of a building so there was only one dangerous reason he could be unmoving. And Tony didn't want to think about it.

"See?" Steve stated.

Tony sighed and shut off the tablet, much to his own disagreement "There, I put it down. Happy now?"

Steve gave a _there-you-go_ gesture and smiled "How hard was that?"

" _How hard was that_ " Tony mocked before sighing. He was worried. He couldn't help it. He knew he shouldn't have been. There was no reason to. Unless of course, _Alexa Ingris_ hired a new man to take out the Spider of Queens. Of the three potential people to hire Davian Attares, Alexa was the only one S.H.I.E.L.D couldn't locate. And the other two had had legitimate alibi's. Tony, along with S.H.I.E.L.D and many of the Avengers, had been following their own leads to finding Alexa. At Tony's request, no one had told Peter. He didn't want the kid knowing that this person was out there _and in hiding_. The poor boy had enough to deal with without feeling the need to look over his own shoulder at all times. That's why Tony had been tracking all his movements, in case Alexa tried something.

But there wasn't any indication that she had or was planning to.

At the first blip of the tablet, Tony left his thoughts and had the little device back in his hands within seconds. Ignoring Steve's sigh of annoyance and Wanda's huff of disapproval, Tony opened up the notification. It led to a black glitchy screen where a few words were impressed in bold.

 **HEARD YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR ME. DECIDED TO MAKE IT EASY. 41ST AVENUE. THE CLOCKTOWER. EIGHT PM. DON'T BE LATE. COME ALONE.**

"You're not actually going to go, are you?" Pepper's voice floated over his shoulder suddenly.

"It's Alexa" Tony replied, dark emotions glaring out through his eyes.

"Just be careful" Pepper said with hunched shoulders. She couldn't stop Tony if she wanted, not when he was that mad, not when he was that scared. It may not have been the world at stake this time, but Tony would take it that way. Because Peter Parker, a fifteen year old boy with a desire to make the world better, had found a place in Tony's heart. When Tony cared about someone, he would do almost anything for them. And this person had hurt one of those someones.

Wanda and Steve looked between themselves and the couple for a moment. Neither wanted to speak but both had questions. It was only when Tony was starting to leave that they stopped him.

"Wait!" Steve stood quickly "Don't you want backup?"

Wanda stood too, looking over expectantly.

"I need to go alone" Tony told them, regretfully. It would be a lot nicer if they were there. But he didn't know what Alexa was capable of. For all he knew, she had removed Peter's tracker and put it on that building, and had him with her right now. If that was true, she might kill him if Tony didn't follow her requests.

None of the room's occupants was able to get out another word before the billionaire had left. They looked between themselves, unsure what to do.

* * *

 _I made you wait for this one for so long, I'd really like to know if it was worth it. There's a little review button that you can press and write in to give me feedback. I would appreciate you use it._


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